The Crush - Part One, I've Got a Crush On You
by Ashley Barbara
Summary: Eli never thought he'd fall for a girl like Meredith. So what happens when she likes him back?
1. I've got a crush on you

Author's note. Any characters from the show don't belong to me. I just used them for the pure entertainment value that I got from writing this little fic. Meredith Bishop does belong to me. Only because I created her. --Some characters were changed slightly to my own benefit, so don't get psycho if things aren't the way they were in the show.  
  
The Crush: Part One ("I've got a crush on you") An Eli and Meredith fic.  
  
Written by: Ashley Supinski &Elizabeth Coiro.  
  
When her phone rang at 10:32 on Saturday morning, Meredith knew that it was Judy with a big favor on the tip of her tongue.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Meredith! I'm so glad you're home. Ralph just called in sick! He's got a fever or something, I don't know. And I have a meeting with Jake. Is there any way you could come in for a few hours? Please?"  
  
Meredith couldn't help but smile into the phone. Immediately, she agreed and told Judy she'd be there in ten minutes. Hanging up the phone, Meredith fell back onto her bed, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck there in the form of Cassiopeia. Her eyes closed and she inhaled a deep breather, letting Brandon Boyd's words fill her head before she pushed herself off of the bed and changed, grabbing her keys, she said good-bye to her mom and left for BookLovers.  
  
- - - -  
  
Eli burst through the heavy glass doors of the bookstore and shot an award winning smile to his Aunt Judy who was sitting behind the counter, a pen in hand working over what was probably paperwork for ordering new books. He wasn't entirely sure if Meredith was working or not, but he figured he'd give it a shot. He had remembered last night that he wanted to invite her to a show on Thursday by a new local band. They had talked a week ago or so about local bands. Well, he talked and she just listened intently, asking questions and giving her opinion. He wasn't sure what it was about that day, but ever since that talk, he'd wanted to invite her to the Human Nature show.  
  
"Well, look at you up and at them before one on a Saturday. I'm impressed. What's the occasion?" Judy laughed as he neared the counter, leaning against it with his hands in front of him, folded, still smiling.  
  
"I had to hit the bank before it closed for Dad. And I remembered I wanted to ask Meredith something. Is she here?"  
  
Judy looked at her step-nephew suspicious before nodding and pointing to the doors just to the left of her. "She's in the back. She's such a sweetheart coming in last minute to do inventory."  
  
Eli looked away, whistling softly. They both knew if Judy called to see if he'd come in it would've taken more than a full 200 piece orchestra to wake him up and drag him into work. "Thanks," he said softly as he walked around the counter and pushed through the swing door.  
  
For some reason, his heart began to pound fast in his chest and he tried to hold his breath to keep from almost panting out of excitement. He had the mixture of feeling like he was walking on air or dragging his feet with concrete shoes. He'd had this feeling before. This insane excitement that had no real rhyme or reason. He stopped, trying to place the sudden feeling of déjà vu. "Sarah Roberts," he said softly to himself. His first real crush. His hand fell on the door to the backroom and he brushed the thought away. There was no possible way that he had a crush on Meredith. She was just his friend. And definitly not his type. She was quiet and shy. And he was loud and obnoxious. Besides, she wouldn't even look twice at him as a boyfriend. And Sarah Roberts was a crush in elementary school. He was a high school graduate.how unfair was it to compare the two?  
  
When he pushed open the door, he peered his head through and when he didn't see her in sudden sight, he called out playfully, almost whispering.  
  
"Meredith.oooooh, Meredith." He smiled as he straightened up and walked into the room. When he turned the corner, he saw her standing there with her arms over her head, trying to push a pile of five (rather large) books over her head on a shelf about five inches higher than her reach. His body froze and he stared at her for a long moment. His mind went blank and when she looked at him and smiled, he felt like his heart might explode in his chest from pounding so hard.  
  
"Hi Eli, what are you-" It was all she got the chance to say before she lost her balance slightly and fell to her feet, the books tumbling off of the shelf. Instinctively, she ducked, her arms immediately covering her head as they fell around her on the floor. She whimpered softly. "Guess I should've gotten the step ladder."  
  
She sighed softly, leaning down and began picking up the pile of books. Somewhere in that amount of time, Eli's senses came back to him and he nodded brieftly, his eyes searching for the step ladder. When he found it he moved over and picked it up, bringing it back to her.  
  
"Are you working today?" He heard her ask as he came back to where she was standing, setting the ladder at her feet. His eyes slowly rose up to her face and she smiled, grateful. "Thank you." She took the two steps slowly as she pushed the books to the back of the shelf, making sure they were stable before moving off of the ladder.  
  
"No, not today. I, uh, actually came by to see you."  
  
"Me? You must be psychic. I wasn't even supposed to work." She smiled, but at his announcement that he came to see her, her heart started to pound in her chest and she inhaled an unnoticable breath, holding it for a long moment before she let it release and bit down on her bottom lip. "What's up?"  
  
He followed her as she moved to the next section, picking up the clipboard that he'd so rebelliously decorated with band stickers and lyrics in black Sharpie marker. "Remember how we were talking about local bands the other day at work? Well, there's a band playing at the Chamber on Thursday and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. And my friends," he added quickly, looking down as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn't want to scare her off and make her think it was a date. It wasn't a date. It was just friends going to see a band together. They were friends, right? "We're all going, and I thought, well, are you interested?"  
  
She stopped and looked up from the checklist and stared at him for a long moment, letting the invitation sink into her brain and save it to memory. She looked down, brushing the long brown hair from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear as she looked back up to him. "I would love too, but I don't want to impose."  
  
"You're not imposing. I want you to come." Mentally, he smacked himself in the head. Numerously. He didn't want to sound desperate. He tried to think of something else to say. Anything else that could cover up mistake number two. "I mean, unless you don't want to come, or have plans or something. It's cool, either way. Just thought, well, you'd be interested."  
  
A smile crossed over her lips and she nodded slowly. "I'd love to go with you. And your friends. I haven't been to a show in months." She bit down on her lower lip, her tongue peeking out before she let go and pressed them together. "The Chamber's right down the street, right? We could meet here and go, or, we could just meet there. Whatever's easiest."  
  
"We can meet here. That sounds good," he smiled as she accepted the invitation. He hoped (and prayed) that she would. He was entirely too nervous about it too. "Well, I should go, I need to do some things. I'll talk to you later."  
  
She nodded slowly, smiling. "Bye, Eli."  
  
He smiled as he turned and walked out of the backroom of BookLovers. A grin spread across his handsome features as soon as he pushed the glass doors open and moved to his dad's car. Why was he so happy? It was just Meredith. He'd known her since like eighth grade when she started helping him with science homework. He turned on the stereo to hear Blink 182's "The Rock Show" playing, he turned it up, thinking how fitting the song was but as he pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive, he sang along to the lyrics and thought about her. 


	2. Girl at the rock show

Thursday took forever to arrive. At least to Meredith and Eli.  
  
Meredith knew that Wednesday night was going to be the hardest night to pass. It was exactly one day until her "date," which wasn't even really a date, more of a hanging out, with Eli. She spent the night watching old black and white movies with her mom, swooning over the charisma of the 50s stars while eating salty popcorn and drinking raspberry iced teas. She wanted to tell her mom about Eli. About the butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him. About how he asked her to go to the show with him on Thursday night. But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew her mother, and she knew what the older woman's reaction would be. Eli seemed to have a reputation (amongst adults and teenagers), Meredith knew it and she knew how everyone would react. She was the good girl, the girl next door. She shouldn't be concerning herself with the bad boy. How ironic that it always seemed to work out that way.  
  
And talking about the events and her feelings brought the relationship to a whole new level. A level that Meredith wasn't even sure if their relationship would ever get near to being on. So, she kept her mouth shut and prayed that she'd get some sleep and try to not be so nervous about Thursday night.  
  
- - - -  
  
For Eli, Thursday afternoon seemed to inch by slower than a snail in the sun. He had decided his plan for the night. He'd eat dinner (which seemed like it was an eternity away), shower and then head to BookLovers to pick up Meredith.  
  
He spent most of the day sitting in his room trying, without much success, to pass the time quickly. When Lily finally announced that dinner was ready, he practically bounded down the stairs to the kitchen. As if eating would pass the time any quicker.  
  
For most of the meal, he played with his food. He wasn't hungry and that was odd. He disregarded the notion that he was just too nervous to eat anything. He half toyed with the idea of calling her and telling her that he had come down with something and was just going to stay home for the night. Almost immediately he realized how horrible that was. He had invited her to go to the show. And it wasn't like this was a date. They were friends, going as friends to a show, with other friends. Just friends.  
  
Finally, when he had enough torture of listening to Grace talk about school and Jessie ask a million questions that he wasn't really listening too, he stood.  
  
"I'm going out with Coop and Wink. I'll be home later." It was all he really said before turning and bounding back to his room to get ready.  
  
As he climbed the stairs to his garage apartment new thoughts started to enter his mind. What if she feels this way? What if she's just as nervous as I am? A smile crossed over his lips and he grabbed a towel, heading towards the bathroom. What if.?  
  
He undressed quickly, climbing into the waiting hot water. He loved to shower. It always cleared his head. Especially when weed wasn't available. He tilted his head back into the oncoming waterfall and let his eyes close. He felt his muscles begin to relax and his head cleared. Tonight was going to be fine. No. Tonight was going to be perfect. Meredith had agreed to go with him. Could it get anymore perfect?  
  
He sighed and turned off the water.  
  
- - - -  
  
Meredith had packed her clothes for the evening in a bag and headed to work. She told Judy she'd close, since it would be easier to just change at work instead of waiting around. Plus, it'd give her something to do to keep her mind off of the oncoming events.  
  
Before Judy left, she pulled Meredith aside and gave her a small "lecture" about how she should be careful and not to get caught up in a boy like Eli. He was "bad news." "Yes, he's my nephew, kinda, and I love him. He's a great guy, but you need to be careful." Meredith smiled, thanking her for the advice. And she would be careful.  
  
She was always careful. Maybe too careful sometimes.  
  
The night seemed to pass quickly and at six she locked the doors and made sure everything was shut down properly before disappearing into the bathroom to change. It took her nearly fourty minutes just to get her hair and make-up done and another twenty to adjust her outfit. Eli had told her that he'd meet her at seven in front of BookLovers. It was now seven-oh- two and she was panicking. She wanted to look perfect but she was scared that something was wrong and she just didn't see it.  
  
Eli arrived at BookLovers at five to seven and the lights were out and there was no sign of Meredith. He sighed, checking his appearance in the reflection of the glass before turning and sitting on the curb. His arms hung over his knees and absently his feet tapped the street and his head moved to music that played inside his head.  
  
The nervousness started to turn to excitement and the butterflies began to flutter in his stomach more quickly and his heart started to pound. He couldn't wait to see her. He couldn't wait to take her to the show.  
  
Meredith left her bag in the back room of BookLovers as she turned off the final lights and made her way through the front of the store, bursting through the front doors, almost out of breath.  
  
"I am soo sorry, I didn't realize it took me so long."  
  
Eli jumped up off of the curb, half out of shock from the ruckus she made and half due to the fact that she'd come out from behind him. He was expecting her to come from down the street, not behind him. He rubbed his hands along his thighs and turned to look at her.  
  
"It's o-" He stopped in mid sentence when he saw her standing there. Her face was painted with make-up, but not a lot, just enough to be that much prettier. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black tank top that showed just an inch of her stomach all the way around. Her hair was hanging around her face, glittery star clips holding the shorter strands back out of her eyes. ".okay." He finally finished when he remembered that he was talking.  
  
For a moment Eli wondered if that was actually the same Meredith he'd seen yesterday in her large hoodie and jeans with hair in a ponytail. But it was. And she was perfect.  
  
He stepped up onto the curb, stopping when he was just a half of a foot away from her. "You look incredible." He smiled then looked down, laughing slightly as his cheeks reddened.  
  
She smiled, looking down as she folded her hands in front of her. "Thank you." Slowly, she lifted her gaze back to him, still smiling.  
  
When he realized that she was staring at him and the awkward silence had set in, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "We should probably get going, Coop and Wink said they'd wait for us out front. It's only a block and half that way," he pointed south bound, "I could drive if you want."  
  
"Could we walk?" She asked almost shyly. She smiled, looking down and shrugged her shoulders. "Or, driving's okay."  
  
"No, I'd like to walk," he smiled, moving closer to her and offering his arm.  
  
She smiled, stepping next to him and linking one arm through his before wrapping the other one around both arms. "It's so beautiful tonight," she said gazing skyward. She sighed, contentedly as he started to lead the way down to the Chamber. "Thank you for inviting me. You really didn't have too."  
  
Eli smiled, looking down as they walked. He found himself trying to walk slower, to keep the time with her as long as possible. To keep her this close as long as possible. When he finally looked up, he saw Coop and Wink standing outside of the club, leaning against the wall. He felt Meredith's arm drop from his and sighed happily as they started flailing their arms frantically.  
  
"You'll have to excuse them.too many sugar rushes."  
  
She smiled softly, wrapping her arms around her waist and looking towards him as they walked closer. They both smelled the scent of weed in the air and Eli was suddenly glad they weren't smoking visibly. He wasn't sure how Meredith would handle that and he didn't want anything to ruin tonight. He wanted it to be perfect.for her.  
  
"Meredith, meet my friends. Coop and Wink. Guys, this is Meredith. She works at the bookstore with me."  
  
They all said their hellos.  
  
"I remember seeing you there when we go to bug Eli," Coop laughed.  
  
Wink nodded in agreement. "It's so cool that you came with us."  
  
"Definitly," Coop added.  
  
Meredith smiled at their enthusiasm for having her come along. She'd been nervous that his friends would get pissed that he invited a girl with him.  
  
"Thank you," she said. The duo turned as soon as they saw and opening and the doors were letting people in. They almost bombarded the crowd waiting there trying to get through. Meredith's eyes widened and Eli took her hand, leaning close and whispering in her ear. "Don't worry, I'll keep you close." She smiled and turned her head to look at him, their faces just an inch or so apart. "Thank you" she mouthed as he started to lead her into the club.  
  
Eli's heart began to pound as he felt Meredith's hand slide into his and their fingers interlocked. He saw Coop and Wink dash immediately towards the stage and he shook his head, laughing softly. He stopped when he found a clear enough spot and pulled her close. "We could go to the front of the stage, or," he nodded, pointing to the balcony, "sit at a table."  
  
"It's up to you. You could go up front if you want, to be with your friends."  
  
He smiled and leaned closer to her. "I'm with them all the time. I want to be with you." He looked down, nodding absently. "I didn't expect it to be so crowded tonight.  
  
She slowly turned her gaze and stared at him, almost amazed. He wanted to be with her. Her hand squeezed his gently and she nodded. "We can try the front." He smiled and nodded, leading her through the ever-growing crowd. He didn't want to pull her along, so he tried to lead her gently, his hand tightening around hers at times to keep her close to him. When they finally reached his friends, he said something and both guys moved to make room for Meredith so that she was in the middle of the guys. None of them wanted to see her get hurt from the crazy people that liked to act like idiots.  
  
No sooner had the group got situated before the lights started to go out and the band came on stage. Meredith was literally holding her breath as the first notes sounded through her ears. She was excited. She was excited to see the band, but more excited to be there with Eli.  
  
Throughout the show, Eli bounced and danced and occassionally sang along with the rest of the crowd to Human Nature's lyrics. He would look at Meredith every so often, or try to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. Every time he saw her, he smiled. He wanted to tell her how happy he was to have her there with him, but he knew that she'd never understand. Inwardly, she was sighing happily. He was euphoric. It was the best way to describe it.  
  
Throughout the show, Meredith's heart never stopped pounding. Never had she been so excited or felt so alive. She was having an intensely wonderful time and all she could do was think about how she could thank Eli and how he would understand what it really meant to her. She wasn't exactly sure there was such a way to tell him. Every so often, throughout the show, she'd look at him and smile before he started to look at her, she'd quickly avert her attention back to the stage.  
  
When the show finally ended and Human Nature took applause and went off stage, the club immediately started to empty. Meredith inhaled a deep breath and sighed happily, turning to Eli who was watching her with a smile on his face.  
  
"Hey, where are the guys?" She asked, looking around before Eli laughed and pointed the bar area. "They found some company." There, Coop and Wink were talking to two beautiful girls with blonde, spiky hair and near matching outfits.  
  
She laughed softly and nodded her head. "Hey, I gotta pee, I'll be right back! Stay here!" She laughed and turned, darting for the bathroom.  
  
Eli laughed softly and nodded his head, moving away from the stage to lean against the wall. He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for Meredith to come back.  
  
"Sammler!" A girl's voice rang through his hears and Eli turned his head to see two girls from high school making their way towards him. He laughed, waving at them as they came over. "Hey, what's up?"  
  
The three stood around talking for a while as Eli waited for Meredith to come back.  
  
The bathroom was crowded with girls who wanted to fix their make-up and talk about what was going on after the show. She tried, as politely as she could, to push her way through the crowd into an empty stall. When she came out, the bathroom was a little less crowded but she became one of the "bathroom whores" as Frankie would call them and fixed her hair and checked her make-up.  
  
When she managed to get out of the bathroom alive, she patted her hands against her thighs and looked around. Coop and Wink were still talking to their new friends and her eyes fell upon Eli leaning against the stage, she smiled until she realized he was talking to someone. Her gaze moved to the two absolutely gorgeous girls standing there talking to him. She tried not to frown as she looked around, finding an empty table, she moved over towards it, sitting down. She didn't want to bother him. It wasn't like she was his date, and she'd look that way going up to him when he was talking to other girls. So, she'd just wait.  
  
She rested her arm on the table top, her chin resting in her upturned palm as she tried to look happy and not so disappointed. Suddenly a man appeared in front of her and she blinked, looking up to him. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Maybe.how did you like the show?"  
  
Her face lit up almost immediately. "It was great!"  
  
The man laughed softly, "May I sit?" When Meredith nodded, he took the chair across from her. "My name's Bill Jasper. I manage Human Nature."  
  
For the first time, Meredith could hear the slight English accent that rested behind his words. "Meredith.a teenager." The introduction make Jasper laugh. "How would you like to come back stage with me."  
  
She laughed softly. "I'd love too, but I should wait for my friends."  
  
"Who are your friends?"  
  
"Well, actually my friend Eli was the one that brought me here. He loves music. I guess it'd figure, he has a band and everything."  
  
Jasper nodded. "Does he?"  
  
"Yeah, they're pretty good too. They performed at a local coffeehouse a while back."  
  
Jasper nodded again, sliding out a business card. Holding it between his fore- and index fingers he held it across the table to her. "Have him call me, I'm always looking for new talent. And you look like you'd know something good."  
  
She laughed, moving to take the card, teasingly he pulled it back. "Are you sure you don't want to come back stage with me?" Meredith laughed, plucking the card from his fingers. "Thank you, but I should get back to them."  
  
Jasper nodded. "He's lucky." Meredith just smiled and said good-bye as he got up and made his way towards the door that led backstage. She smiled softly as she looked down at the formal business card for "Alley Kat Records."  
  
When Meredith finally realized that she should find Eli, she looked up and towards the stage. The club was starting to really empty out, but at the same time, it was re-filling with older people. Eli wasn't there. Her eyes widened and she stood up and looked to the bar. Coop and Wink were gone. Her heart pounded in her chest and she tried to inhale deep breaths but she only got short ones. They were gone and as she neared the door, more people were in her way, pushing her back and all she wanted to do was to get out. She tried to breath, but she felt like she was suffocating. She was going to have a panic attack.  
  
She tried to move, to turn, but she couldn't. The people were pushing her back into the club and she wanted to scream that she had to get out. She felt a hand wrap around hers and pull her around. She spun, almost rapidly until she saw Eli looking down at her. Without even thinking, her arms wrapped around his neck tightly and she almost pushed him over with the force of her hug.  
  
His arms wrapped around her, holding her close and his heart pounded before he gently pulled away and led her outside. "I thought I lost you, what happened?"  
  
"I don't know, I was sitting down and when I looked around everyone was gone and I got so scared." She was trying to calm down and he pulled her to the side when they finally got outside, running a hand alone her face.  
  
"I'm so sorry. Coop and Wink disappeared and I thought you went with them outside but when I couldn't find you.I got worried." His eyes moved downward and he saw the card she held in her hand. In an attempt to make things lighter, he joked. "I hope that isn't a score card."  
  
When the reached outside, she let her hand drop from his when they finally found an open space. Her arms wrapped around her waist and when he mentioned the business card she gasped softly. She had completely forgotten about it. She smiled and looked up when he asked if it was a scorecard. "It's not, something better." She handed it over to him. "Bill Jasper, the manager of Human Nature, is interested in hearing you guys play. I guess he owns Alley Kat Records or something." A smile slid over her lips as she shrugged, almost non-chalantly. "Anyway, you should call him."  
  
Eli's mouth practically dropped open when she told him about Bill Jasper. In the last thirty seconds so much had changed. He couldn't believe it. They were standing under the awning of the Chamber's entranceway with people coming around them, entering into the club and he took the card, staring at it. "I can't believe this. It's amazing.You're amazing." He looked up at her slowly, leaning forward and gently kissed her cheek. "Thank you."  
  
Meredith's eyes closed when he leaned forward and she felt his lips against her cheek. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her knees felt week. She couldn't believe it. She knew it was just a thank you, but still. "Don't thank me, you have the talent." She smiled and looked up to him.  
  
Eli opened his mouth to say something but he didn't have a chance before Coop's voice came over their ears. "Sammler! Hey E!" When Meredith and Eli turned to look at his friends, they were both waving their hands frantically. Eli laughed and shook his head and Meredith smiled as she followed him over to meet his friends.  
  
"There's a party at Shakey's, are you guys up for it?"  
  
Eli looked to Meredith and she smiled and shrugged her shoulders in response. "Sure, I don't have anywhere to be."  
  
Eli smiled as he watched her and she looked up at him, their eyes catching for a moment before she looked away, embarassed. The action went completely unnoticed by his friends. "Great, we're gonna hit the waffle house before we go. I'm starved!" Coop exclaimed, rubbing his stomach. "We'll catch you there."  
  
Eli nodded and he and Meredith turned, walking back towards BookLovers and Coop and Wink headed to the parking lot to get Coop's truck.  
  
Eli offered his arm for Meredith again and she linked her arm through his, walking close to him. "I had a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me."  
  
He looked down to her, smiling softly. "I owe you a thank you. I can't believe this. It's so.unbelievable."  
  
She laughed softly and rested her head against his head gently as they walked back to his car. "Congradulations, rock star." She grinned and looked at him. 


	3. The Party Disaster

Before they knew it, and sooner than they might've liked, they were standing at Eli's car. He unlocked and opened the door for her. She thanked him and slid into the passanger's seat. He made sure she was in before he shut the door gently. He was practically grinning when he walked around the car, but tried to calm down before he slid behind the wheel.  
  
When he started the car, he felt the nervousness rise in his stomach again. He wasn't exactly sure why.everything at the club had gone great. Wonderful. Fantastic, of course except for the part where they got seperated. But he still felt nervous.  
  
They rode in silence for a few minutes and he drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel as she stared out of the window, lost in her own thoughts. He fought for something to say but when he tried, it came out in a big jumble. "Mer, I, uh.you are.tonight." He wanted to smack himself. He felt his cheeks grown hot and redden and Meredith turned her attention to him, confused slightly at the jibberish that escaped his mouth.  
  
Finally, Eli tried again after a moment of composing himself. "Tonight was wonderful. You're wonderful. Thank you for coming," he finally took a chance in stealing a look in her direction. "I was afraid you wouldn't want to go, or wouldn't have fun."  
  
A smile slid over her lips and she reached over, patting his arm gently. Her knees felt weak again and she tried to stop her body from trembling. It did that whenever she got nervous or excited, or both at the same time. "So are you.and I had a lot of fun." She looked down, turning her gaze away from him for a moment and pushing her lips together, trying to think of something else to say, but nothing escaped her lips.  
  
Before she had a chance to think of anything else, Eli pulled up to Shakey's house. It was a normal, two story house with shrubs and flower beds and painted white with lots of windows. Meredith looked at the house for a long moment before her eyes moved to the yard, littered with empty red cups and people passed out. She blinked and looked to Eli.  
  
Eli was staring at the picture in front of him. "Looks like a hell of a party. Still interested?" He turned his attention back to her and she smiled softly, though unsure as she nodded.  
  
They both climbed out of the car and the scent of alcohol filled their noses. Eli swallowed hard and looked around as he made his way over to Meredith. He suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Meredith moved to meet him at the front of the car and she wrapped her hand around Eli's. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we can just go to the park or something. Or if you want to go home." Eli hoped she wouldn't opt for the last choice.  
  
Before Meredith had a chance to answer or turn and run, Shakey came running out of the house with two red glasses, amber liquid spilling from them. "Sammler! Get your ass in here, bro!"  
  
Meredith couldn't help but smile and nodded towards Shakey. "Looks like you've been spotted. No getting out now." Eli smiled and looked down at her, nodding slightly as he led her towards the house. When they met Shakey on the porch, Eli introduced them and Shakey grinned, handing them each a glass and wrapped his arms around their shoulders leading them inside.  
  
"I was wondering when your sorry ass was going to get here. Coop and Wink are already started. You've got a lot of catching up to do."  
  
Before Eli could say anything, Shakey's hand dropped from Meredith's shoulder and he started leading Eli towards the stares. "I need to borrow Sammler here for a few minutes. You don't mind do you? I'll bring him back, I promise," Shakey told Meredith, without waiting for a reply he started to lead Eli away. She nodded slightly as they walked away, leaving her alone with drunk kids, some of which she knew from school but no one she ever talked too.  
  
Eli looked back over his shoulder to Meredith helplessly. He didn't want to leave her. He should've told Shakey he just came by to drop off a cd or something. He shouldn't have gotten out of the car. But it was too late now and he was being led away from Meredith.  
  
Meredith walked through the house, finding an empty spot in the kitchen and poured herself something from the fridge, something hopefully not tainted with alcohol. She no sooner closed the door when John walked in. "Meredith Bishop! I never thought I'd see you at one of these!" John Mayer graduated a year before Meredith did, he graduated with her best friend Frankie. She smiled and looked up to him. "Hi, John."  
  
Shakey led Eli upstairs and down the hall, a route Eli knew all too well. They came to the last door on the left and Shakey pushed the door open, walking into the room cluttered with band equipment. In the corner, small plants were being grown under blue and black lights. Shakey grinned as he looked at Eli, slapping his friend on the back.  
  
Eli just shook his head and smiled.  
  
Downstairs, John was engaging Meredith in talk about college and all the partying he did. "I should probably go find Eli," she said finally.  
  
John looked down at her, he was Eli's height, maybe an inch shorter, but a little bigger, some muscles, some fat. Meredith would agree that he was handsome, but he was a little too much of a jock for her own good. True, Eli played basketball, but John played football. There was a huge difference between football and basketball players.  
  
John simply shook his head and led Meredith towards the back patio. "He's probably busy, I think Carla wanted to talk to him or something. Anyway, come on. I wanna show you something."  
  
Eli made his way downstairs but Meredith wasn't in the living room. His eyes trailed over the place and all the kids laying around. He took a sip from the cup before setting it down on the table by the end of the stairs. He moved over to a couch where he saw Coop.  
  
"Hey, have you see Mer?"  
  
Coop looked to his friend and laughed, hitting him on the arm. "Dude! This party fucking rocks!" Eli sighed, Coop was too drunk and too high to know anything.including his own name.  
  
"I'll talk to you later, dude." Eli turned and walked towards the kitchen.  
  
John led Meredith outside, passed the pool where kids were swimming, some of them naked, or near naked. Others were on the chairs and such that were around the pool, talking, laughing, drinking. He took over her to a weeping willow tree and took her hand as he led her under the branches and to the hidden inside. "I love it here," he said as genuinely as he could muster without slurring.  
  
"It is nice." Meredith didn't get a chance to finish her statement as John leaned closer to kiss her. She backed away, her hands on his chest pushing him backwards.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"What does it look like?"  
  
She shook her head and started to walk away from him when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Her head started to spin and she felt like she might pass out, or was reliving a form of déjà vu. "I didn't say you could leave, did I? I knew I should've just taken you upstairs."  
  
"You shouldn't have taken me anywhere. I'm going to go find Eli." She pulled her arm away from him and backed up.  
  
"Don't bother. Once Carla gets her hands on 'im, he ain't going nowhere. Especially not with you." John laughed and Meredith just stared at him.  
  
"Hey, Mayer!" Eric McAllister called over to them. John turned and looked to Eric. "Come here, bro, I wanna talk to you." John groaned and moved away from Meredith. Meredith mouthed "Thank you" to Eric who nodded and gave her the thumbs up sign. She inhaled a deep breath and turned, walking towards the front of the house.  
  
She saw Wink but before he saw her, someone pushed him and he fell into her, spilling most of his drink over himself and some on her. She sighed softly and he looked up. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry, Meredith!" He regained his balance, hitting his friend who pushed him.  
  
"It's okay, have you seen Eli?"  
  
Wink shook his head. "Nah." She smiled and thanked him before she turned and walked out to the front of the porch. Maybe she should just walk home. She could use the time to clear her head. And that way Eli could stay at the party and have fun. But she felt her stomach tie in knots. She wanted to be with him. To have fun. She didn't want to go home alone and just leave him wondering. Would he even wonder though? Would he care? She sighed softly, wrapping her arms around her waist and walked down the street.  
  
Eli had finished checking the entire downstairs and she was no where in sight. He thought of maybe going upstairs, but he would've passed her in the hallway and most of the rooms were crowded with teenagers making out. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he sighed and moved through the kitchen and out of the backdoor. He walked around the kidney shaped pool his eyes trailing over every brunette girl that might be Meredith but he didn't see her. He started to walk around the house when he heard someone call out his name.  
  
"Sammler! Get over here!" Eli turned to see Wink waving him over, a red cup in his hand. Eli moved over to him and Wink's arm immediately went around his best friend's shoulders. "Let me tell you something, Eli, I love you. You're, like, my best friend. Ever." Eli smiled, laughing softly and nodded his head, patting his friend on the back.  
  
"That's great Wink, I love you too. Have you seen Mer?"  
  
Wink stared at his friend for a long moment then nodded slowly. "Hey, yeah I did. She was heading out front. Saw her like ten minutes ago."  
  
Eli's eyes widened. Did she leave? "Hey, I'll see you later, bro." Eli said before slipping out of Wink's grasp and practically running to the front of the house. He stopped when he hit the driveway and looked around but Meredith was no where to be found. He frowned and looked in both directions of the street. She could be anywhere by now.  
  
He started to panic. His head was spinning and his heart was beating fast in his chest. He had no idea where she was and he didn't want to think that she started to walk home, or anywhere, alone. He felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around, hoping it was Meredith.  
  
It wasn't.  
  
Carla stood there, a red cup in her hand, her eyes red and she grinned at him. "Well, well, well," she said in a slurred voice, "If it isn't the big rock star himself." She grinned as she slapped his chest, letting her hand linger there a little longer than Eli would have liked. "We haven't spoken in a while, you know." Before he could move away her hand was on his pants, fingers looping into the top of his belt and pulling him closer.  
  
Eli inhaled a deep breath and slowly pushed Carla away from him, taking her hand from around his belt. "I'd love to talk, but I'm kinda in a hurry." He had to find Meredith. He didn't wait for her to reply as he turned and started running down the street. He just picked a direction and ran.  
  
He ran hard until he reached the end of the street when he didn't think he could run anymore. His lungs were heavy, his legs hurt from the spontaneous dash and his veins felt like they were pumping acid. He bent forward, hands on his knees and his head bowed, defeated. He inhaled a few deep breaths before he stood and threw his hands over his head, rubbing his eyes and looking at the sky.  
  
What if Wink was wrong? What if she went back into the house and she was looking for me? What if she thinks I left her at the party? Eli felt his heart become heavy and sink in his chest.  
  
With his head bowed and feet shuffling, he turned and made his way back to Shakey's house.  
  
Meredith wanted to go home. She wanted to crawl up into her bed and just forget about everything. She wanted to make her heart stop hurting and wanted to keep the tears from staining her cheeks and making her throat burn. She wanted to not like Eli Sammler and move on with her life and let him be. She wanted so many things, but her desires would never be satisfied.  
  
She had gotten nearly two blocks before she gave up and walked back to Shakey's. She had left her purse in his car and everything was in it. She could just call a cab, or see if someone was home to take her home.  
  
Her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, hugging herself as she walked slowly back to Shakey's. She was three houses from his when she looked up and saw Eli heading towards her, from the other direction. Her eyes narrowed slightly and they met at his car.  
  
She was looking at her feet before she pressed her lips together and finally looked up to him. "I need my purse. I'm gonna go home. You can stay here with your friends, I'll find another way home."  
  
He looked up at her slowly. His expression was a mixture of hurt and confusion. "Home? What, Mer, I've been looking for you all over. What happened? Where'd you go?"  
  
He could tell how upset she was. Well, maybe upset wasn't the word for it. She watched him as she spoke, but lowered her head and tried not to cry. He was looking for her? Maybe, but she still wasn't sure about staying. Not with how horrible she was feeling. She felt sick to her stomach. Her eyes closed slowly and she sighed softly. "I just want to go home, Eli."  
  
He sighed softly. What a beautiful disaster this has become, he thought bitterly as he moved to open the passenger side door for her. "I'll drive you home."  
  
"You don't have too, it's okay. You should stay here, be with your friends." She looked up at him, forcing a small smile before she let one hand drop from her waist and fall to his, holding it for a long moment. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Eli. I love being with you," but, I'm not Jennifer or Carla or anyone else in the house getting drunk and high. "but I don't want to ruin your night. You should stay, really, I'll be okay."  
  
Eli squeezed her hand gently and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by John's voice cutting through the air. "Hey! Sammler, why don't you bring your cute little friend over here?"  
  
Meredith tensed when she heard John's words and looked down, swallowing hard.  
  
Carla had turned the corner, stopping in her tracks as she stared at Eli and Meredith. Her eyes narrowed before she moved over to John, holding onto him for support as they both seemed to wobble across the lawn. "Yeah, rock star. We never got to finish our little talk!"  
  
Meredith squeezed her eyes shut, her hand falling from Eli's. "I think I'm just going to walk home. I could use the fresh air."  
  
He sighed as he watched Carla and John and turned back to Meredith. "Will you let me drive you home? Please? I don't want you walking alone. It's too far and it's too dark. You won't be ruining my evening unless you won't let me drive you home. Please, Meredith." He looked down at her, staring into her crystalline eyes. Her beautiful crystalline eyes. "Please." He was begging her, complete with the puppy dog face to go along with it.  
  
She sighed softly and didn't say a word as she climbed into the car. He carefully shut the door when she was inside and she pulled her legs up close to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins. She stared out of the window for a long moment, just to see John and Carla collapse to the ground from losing balance.  
  
When Eli climbed into the driver's side, he had a smirk on his face from witness Carla and John topple over each other. Slamming his door shut, he slid the key into the ignition and turned it on. Meredith looked over to him, smiling slightly. "Thank you."  
  
He looked over to her as he began to drive down the road. A smile on his face from replaying Carla falling over in his head. "Thanks? For what?" He shrugged his shoulders and focused on the road and Meredith looked out of her window.  
  
After a long silence, he cleared his throat slightly. "Mer, I lost you twice tonight and it freaked me out both times. If you ever want to go out with me again, maybe we should get walky-talkys." As soon as the suggestion had slipped out of his mouth, Eli wanted to smack himself. Can I sound any more stupid? "I mean, like, despite getting seperated, I had a really good time with you tonight. And, uh, I'd like to go out with you again.if you want too, that is."  
  
She smiled when she looked over at him, watching his profile as he drove, turning here and there, making his way to the bookstore. "Or cow bells." A smile crossed over her lips as he turned and looked at her, smiling, relieved that she went along with his joke. Maybe it wasn't so stupid afterall.  
  
"I had a good time too, besides the seperating part. That kinda sucked." She smiled and watched him as he pulled into the back parking lot of BookLovers. Her palm hit her forehead as she growled. "I totally forgot, I didn't drive to work today. But I'll just walk home, it's okay." Her legs stretched out beneath her and she moved to undo her seat belt.  
  
"Well, no. I could take you home. I mean, it's really late and I'm already here. It's not a problem." She looked up at him slowly, a smile spreading over her lips.  
  
"That would be nice, thank you." She let the seat belt alone and gave him directions to her house from BookLovers. When he pulled into the driveway, he turned off the car and she patted her thighs for a moment, nodding to nothing.  
  
Biting down on her lip, she looked down at her hands which were fiddling nervously in her lap. "If you want, you could come in. For ice cream or something. Unless you have to get home, then you know, it's okay and whatever. You don't have too. Or if you wanna go back to Shakey's. I'll just talk to you later, when you're not busy." 


	4. First Kiss

She wanted to slam her head against the dashboard. Way to be subtle and completely not stupid, Meredith.  
  
Eli took the keys out of the ignition and shook his head. He didn't want to go back to Shakey's. He wanted to be with her. To spend time with her and just her. It was something that he had secretly hoped would happen all night and it just never did. He pressed his lips together and for a long moment contemplated telling her everything. Laying everything on the line, that way if she didn't feel the same way or wanted him to leave he wouldn't have to be thrown out of the house.  
  
But it passed. He couldn't do it. He knew before he even tried, the words would never come out.  
  
He climbed out of the car when she did and his gaze fell over her house. She lived in a nice part of town. Where people had white picket fences and rose bushes to line their houses. Her house was nice.  
  
He was afraid of going inside with her. Terrified of being alone with her with no one else around. He was afraid of rejection, of her pushing him away, cutting him out completely and not looking back. But then realization came. She had witnessed everything at Shakey's and she was still inviting him in. She wanted to spend time with him. Just them. His heart fluttered and he smiled when she moved over to him. "Ice cream sounds great."  
  
She smiled when she met him on his side of the car. One hand dropped from her stomach and her fingers wrapped around his as she walked with him up the stone path to the small patio. She let go of his hand when she began to dig in her purse for her keys and unlocked the door.  
  
Pushing the door open, she moved inside and waited for him to enter before closing the door behind him. They were standing in a small foyer area with the kitchen to the left and a staircase to the right and a living room straight ahead. She smiled, dropping her purse onto a table by the stairs and led him to the left, to the kitchen.  
  
She flicked the switch and the entire kitchen, in white and yellow tile and linoleum became visible by fluerescent lights above them. There was an island with a white marble cutting board built as the surface in the center. A wooden table at the far end, looking out of a bay window. There were two stools set up on one side of the island and she motioned for Eli to take a seat as she moved to the fridge.  
  
She opened the freezer and looked inside, pulling out two pints. "Phish food or Half baked?"  
  
He watched as she opened the freezer and his mind began to race. He wanted to tell her how he felt. He had spent the last few weeks denying that he had any feelings for her other than friendship. Afterall, it was Meredith. He'd known her since eighth grade. How could he like her? But in one night, she had shown him without even realizing it how wonderful everything could be. She had shown him that everything could be perfect, better than he ever imagined. He sighed softly as he replayed some of the moments from the night in his head.  
  
He had always thought of her as the quiet and reserved type. And that she would go after a guy that reflected her interests. But tonight, tonight he had seen another side of her. A fun and care-free side. He was drawn to her, to how perfect she was, to how she took everything in stride and still smiled after the bad parts.  
  
He loved her smile.  
  
He blinked and looked up when she asked what flavor. "Huh? Um, tough one, but I'm going to have to go with Phish Food because that's my favorite."  
  
She grinned and put the pint of Half Baked back, closing the freezer and moved over to the counter, setting it down. "It must be a sign then," she grinned, "of course, I don't know what the sign is for, but it's still a sign. How else could I have your favorite B&J ice cream in my freezer? What are the odds." She winked as she turned, reaching up into a cabinet and grabbing two white bowls and then a drawer by the sink and pulling out two spoons, setting them next to the container. "Mind doing the honors?" She didn't wait for his reply as she pushed the contents closer to him and he just laughed.  
  
"Sure."  
  
She smiled and moved around the counter to take the stool next to him. She let one arm rest on the counter, her head resting in her palm as she watched him.  
  
"Are you feeling better?" He asked as he finished scooping out the ice cream.  
  
"Mmhm, thank you."  
  
He smiled softly, nodding. "Good." Turning on the stool, he slid off and moved the ice cream back to freezer. He shivered when he opened it and the cold freeze came to his face. "Geez, remind me to bring my parka next time."  
  
Meredith smiled softly, looking down at her ice cream and stabbing it with her spoon. "Or, you know, I could always warm you up." Meredith could feel her cheeks turn red immediately and was glad his back was still to her. She couldn't believe she just said that.  
  
Eli's mouth dropped open and he was glad that he wasn't facing her. He shifted his weight and closed his mouth, turning, he smirked as he looked at her. He half toyed with the idea of asking her exactly how she planned on doing that, but he kept his mouth shut.  
  
He moved back over to the stool and slid onto it. He turned so that he was facing her and their knees were basically touching.  
  
When she turned her head so that she was looking at him, he smiled softly. "You were right, this was a sign." The smile slowly disappeared from his face into a serious expression as he watched her. "You have the most incredible eyes. They're so beautiful. You're so beautiful."  
  
She looked down at his compliment, her cheeks growing pink slightly and her eyes closed. She felt his hand on her cheek, his thumb brushing the skin gently before he kissed her other cheek. When he moved back, her eyes opened as she watched him. He bit down on his bottom lip gently and smiled softly. "Perfect," he whispered. "Tonight has been nothing short of perfect."  
  
He moved his hand to brush hair out of her face gently and she just stared at him for a long moment. Her heart was pounding and she knew she could feel her knees shaking. She wondered if he could feel it too. She wasn't really thinking anymore, but she didn't need to when she leaned closer to him, her face coming closer to hers in what seemed like motion picture slow motion. Her eyes closed and her lips touched his, gently before pressing against them in a soft kiss. 


End file.
